38 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Thursday, June 21, 2012 Vegetarian Stuffed Mushroom Caps Ingredients · 16 large mushrooms · 1/4 cup melted butter · 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs · 2 eggs, lightly beaten · 3 green onions, finely chopped · pinch of grated nutmeg (fresh is best) · grated swiss or grated parmesan · salt and pepper to taste · Hollandaise sauce (optional) What's Cookin': Travelling with a vegetarian Gerry has a little story today about travelling with a vegetarian... We recently had the opportunity to take one of our grandsons close to Ottawa for his Algonquin college preparedness camp. We hope that he has passed and will be attending Algonquin in September (Note: in the time between the writing of the this story and the publishing, Alex did indeed get accepted into his program of choice-- go Alex!). You have heard us speak before of these grandsons who are now vegetarians. So I had to put my head into another place to prepare for the three-day weekend of a long drive. As we would be on the road for several hours both ways, I opted for a picnic on the way there. The available fast food places on the highways have little or no vegetarian options. So after we had to stop Lori Gysel & Gerry Kentner at Webers for the obligatory burger (garden burger for Alex), we enjoyed our picnic mid-afternoon. I brought the sandwich fixings, with the baguette and some croissants to make your own. The day before I made homemade hummus and ranch dressing. Better choices than butter or mayo. Grilled veggies -- zucchini, peppers, onion, eggplant and asparagus with fresh tomatoes and baby cucumbers. Lettuce from our garden and carrots for dipping. And of course a bag of chips-- just because. We did nibble on leftovers throughout the weekend, cause I always make too much! Method 1. Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems and sauté over medium/high heat in 2 tbsp of the butter for a couple of minutes. 2. Lower heat to low and add green onions, breadcrumbs and egg last. Stir for 2 minutes then turn off heat and add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. 3.Place mushroom caps in a greased shallow baking dish. Stuff each cap generously with the mixture, then top each with a bit of grated cheese and drizzle each with the remaining butter. 4. If using hollandaise, omit the butter drizzle. 5. Bake in a 375 F degree oven uncovered for approximately 20 minutes. 6. Remove from oven and coat/nap with hollandaise. Chef's note: One package of hollandaise or one recipe, if you make your own, will cover one recipe of mushrooms. Also "to nap" is a chef's terminology for coating with a sauce with a spoon. Considering the supper options for the 3 of us, we settled on a little bistro serving crepes. This turned out to be a great option, for there were many vegetarian fillings and the daily special was a vegetarian pasta choice. Bedtime with a Tim's and the homemade oatmeal cookies that I made. For 24 hours, we were on our own while he was rapelling off the bungee jumping tower, white water rafting and kayaking. For the ride home I picked up cheese, grapes and a few snacks and lots of water. It was a great weekend. Consider your options when someone has a dietary issue. There are great choices, if you plan ahead and don't make a big issue out of their restrictions. Have fun and keep cooking! Email your questions and comments to Lori and Gerry at whatscookin@theifp.ca Halton Hills firefighters to wait tables at Kelsey's, June 27 All for a good cause-- Georgetown Hospital Foundation There's sure to be a hot time at Kelsey's Wednesday, June 27 from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. when Halton Hills firefighters turn in their firefighting gear for serving trays. In aid of the Georgetown Hospital Foundation, local firefighters will take on the role of servers with 10 per cent of the sales and 100 per cent of servers' tips going to the Foundation. As well, there will be plenty of fun events as patrons can try on bunker gear, pose with a picture of fire mascot Sparky or sit in a fire truck. Great prizes will also be available. For seating reservations call 905877-7150.